Deer Hunting on TV

I watch the Versus channel alot with all the deer hunting shows they have on there,and I guess I don't understand all the so called experts that are telling me how to hunt.They are usually somewhere where there are dozens of bucks just standing there,and they will pass on huge animals if it isn't "the one" or if it has a broken antler or something petty like that.Then when they get a shot with a rifle,the deer gives them several minutes to make the shot.Those shows make it out that you have to be a full time hunter or sportsman or some s%^$ just to be able to deer hunt successfully.I went out this year with an antlerless license with almost no experience with a $300 gun with a $50 scope smelling like snuggle and still bagged me a huge doe that gave me about 40 lbs of meat to enjoy.I think does are better eatin than a buck anyday.I just hate how they shoot a big buck,run at it like a caveman and grab the antlers with no attention payed to the size of the animal or how much food they just aquired,but no,it's all about the antlers and the shot I guess.I think I will never understand.You kill to eat,but of the 1,000s of lbs of deer meat these TV hunters shoot,how much of the deer do they actually eat?I am satisfied with one deer a year because I know I won't eat more than that till next season,and if you shot 5 deer and like to fill your freezer because your family likes venison alot,I have no problem with that,all I have a problem with is feeling belittled by those shows because my deer wasn't 5 years old with a huge rack.I personally think an old nasty buck like that wouldn't taste nearly as as good as my 3-4 year old doe.I am satisfied with my hunting experience which isn't trophy hunting,it's deer hunting,good ole deer hunting.I wish there was a good show about just deer hunting.They should name some of the shows on TV "obsessed with antlers and killing with no cure",or "huge skill-less antler hunting TV".I am not saying I have much skill,but I do question the expertise of the so called "experts" on TV.

I would agree that there not much one can do to make antlers tasty, but I think the whole point of the TV show is to sell hunts. I don't think the show would be all that popular or would sell very many hunts if they were just showing some guy shooting does in an apple orchard. I think the antler thing is somewhat like a guy that thinks he needs a Cadillac when a Chevy will do just fine, but the Chevy won't draw the crowd hence the Caddy.

I think it kinda depends on where your hunting. In Louisiana it's common knowledge that if its brown its down. In Texas where I hunt there is a 8 point or better rule plus the antlers have to be wider then his ears. If I have my way I like to shoot 5 deer a year. I make sausage, and ground meat. I use it in everthing. The wife and kid love it so I try no to buy the junk at the store.

I also agree with you old bucks are nasty, but heck if i see one with a big rack thats his butt.

I also notice in Texas I have more time to score the deer. Not the case in Louisiana. If you see one in Louisiana you better shoot quick cause you will never see him again.

I like to watch the deer hunting shows, but i don't let their tactics influence how i hunt, sometimes they make it sound like if you don't have this product or that sent you are just wasting your time.

If you had all the equipment and scents and calls they use it would cost you $100,000 just to go deer hunting. I personally think deer are pretty stupid, and if you put yourself where the deer are sooner or later you will kill one.

You have to wonder how many of those hunts are fair chase and not penned in deer and other game they show on those types of hunting shows.

I use a little scent and that is about it, no drips, decoys,no rattle racks, grunt calls etc,etc. I do all my hunting from the ground, so the major key for me is not to move to much.

I would much rather watch shows about duck hunting or bird hunting than deer hunting, my mind set is i go out and if i get one good if not then so be it. For eating i would much rather have a doe than a buck. I went this year but did not get one oh well maybe next year.

deer are scattered here in Michigan,and when you see one you have just a few moments to take the shot.There are some fields for long range,but for the most part it is thick flat woods here,and a 175lb 8 point is top dog here,I think that is about as big as they come here.I shot my doe with my .444 and she dropped with all legs out like bambi on ice,and I even made a poor shot.Alot of hunters here,like most of them use really long range guns here when there really isn't a need for them here,the .444 was my grandpas,so I think he thought it out well and got what was practical,not what others had.I was taught to mainly get a good blind going and sit still,and when you see a deer,get the gun up and you have only a few seconds to take a shot.I seen on those shows the deer just a staring at the shooter for like a minute,and they still end up missing the deer alot.

deer are scattered here in Michigan,and when you see one you have just a few moments to take the shot.There are some fields for long range,but for the most part it is thick flat woods here,and a 175lb 8 point is top dog here,I think that is about as big as they come here.I shot my doe with my .444 and she dropped with all legs out like bambi on ice,and I even made a poor shot.Alot of hunters here,like most of them use really long range guns here when there really isn't a need for them here,the .444 was my grandpas,so I think he thought it out well and got what was practical,not what others had.I was taught to mainly get a good blind going and sit still,and when you see a deer,get the gun up and you have only a few seconds to take a shot.I seen on those shows the deer just a staring at the shooter for like a minute,and they still end up missing the deer alot.

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Down in south La the 30-30 is a favorite. Heavy brush gun, it works good and the shots are generally under 100 yrds. Your 444 is also a great power busting load at closer ranges. The long range rifles like the 270 use a different shaped bullet. Under 40 cal the bullets are made different so that they can expand and mushroom. Once you get to 40 cal or above the sheer size of the hole will suffice to take down game.

In Texas I have much more time to take my shots. Then again we are shooting them when they are going to eat. If your hunting deer when they are on the move from bedding to feeding locations or when they are chasing does, you will not have as much time. I also too was very shocked when i first went to TX. Much different for a southern La boy. Thing is in Tx if you don't take your time and score the animal or judge it aganist something else you will end up shooting a very small deer. It is not uncommon to see 20 deer at one hunt so you have to be selective. Sounds like your hunting is similar to that of mine in Louisiana.

Well here I go showing my redneck personality. I absolutely despise the way the "Professional Hunters" go about shooting deer. I totally agree with the previous post about not needing every item the Professional guys use,now remember they are being sponsored by these companies. I use a set of three by four sheds that I picked up years ago for rattling and I use "sparingly" a grunt tube. Other than that I just hunt. I do take a good shower without using any scented soap and I like good camouflage clothing. I want to address the Professional killers again,I have never left an animal lay overnight or any long period of time just because it was getting dark. Thats why we have flashlights. When they leave a beautiful animal lay overnight in South Texas 60 or 70 degree heat overnight. Just how good do you think that meat is the next day? Likewise the Professional hunter that says,"Well we just knoked down a really nice deer but we have to be on the plane in a couple of hours so our guide will go find it for us and take care of it." Sorry about the rant I just really don't care for the jerks that waste meat and call it hunting. Rant off. catfish

I have no problem with someone being proud of their hunt and being overjoyed at a huge rack,but it needs to be the icing on the cake,with 99% of the sport being enjoyed by the time in the woods and the reward of the kill and the fresh venison,not 99% of everything being that the deer was a 10 point and 200+lb.It just makes me so mad when they see a deer on TV and start naming off numbers of the antler score or counting the points long,long before the shot.I just can't fathom taking the oldest gnarliest buck in rut if you really do enjoy venison.My doe this year tastes great,much better than the buck I took last year,and 100 times better than a deer that took hours to die.I am an advocate of using rifles that are more than what you need to take a deer with so they go down even with a poorer shot.If you use the bare minimum,you may wound an animal and never find it.I think whitetail should be taken with guns that produce 3000+ lbs of energy(personal opinion).

I didn't get a deer this year. I think it's because I forgot to buy a bad boy buggy and a scent-lock suit.

Really, though, I like to watch those hunting shows with my son. He likes to see all of the animals, and it helps him understand where daddy goes when he is away hunting. He's 4, and can't wait to tag along.

Well I suppose we would do the same thing as they do if we had a selection of deer that they have to shoot at. But, here in the real world deer aren't that plentiful and grand. I'm happy with an "okay" buck. I'm not a big fan of venison so I don't bother with does anymore. Why shoot what I really don't enjoy? So I just keep holding out till I see a really nice buck. I'll eat most of it, but surely will give some away too. After that I'll start gunning for black bear.

Well, I guess I see it different. I ranch in South Texas, and am oriented to raising bigger antlers and healthier deer. I go sit in a blind, or my favorite, a tripod and watch the animals. They are not generally afraid of blinds, or a vehicle, because we shoot sparingly and accurately. We can and do hunt over corn, and can make more informed decisions about a kill. The ranch is high fenced to control both trespassers and deer numbers. Our habitat is such that if we don't control the numbers, they all suffer. There was a time 15 years ago, that we needed to take 80-100 deer off the place every year. By Texas Parks and Wildlife standards we had to leave them lay. What a waste, but that was the law. When hunting now, we hunt the inferior buck and leave the best to breed. When they attain an age beyond the breeding age, we can take them out to allow younger, more desirable bucks to breed. So our hunt requires the hunter to be an accurate scorer on the hoof, as well as being able to age on the hoof. My son at 12 could match up with the best biologists at aging on the hoof.

There was a time back in the 60's that any deer sighting was a good thing, and we shot any buck that came out, but times and objectives have changed.

What's going on??I have ranted about Versus shows,but I still like them because I get to see huge deer anyways.Well,turned on the TV this morning and the Versus channel is gone!I have Dishnetwork,I knew it was off Directv,but now Dishnetwork booted them too?

I am another one that doesn't like the professional Deer Hunting shows on TV. IMHO, these guys are only hunting antlers, and do not represent the vast majority of hunters. Tom Gresham once told a caller on his show that the 7.62X39 was totally inadequate for deer hunting. The pros are not all they are cracked up to be. Some of them are considered Pros because of who they are, and because they have killed animals all over the world. In my opinion they simply do not live, or hunt the way most of us do. I am also another hunter that likes to eat what I shoot. A young doe, or spike buck is what I want to shoot. If a big 10 pointer walked out on me, I would probably shoot it. Couldn't afford to have it mounted, unless I used one of those do it yourself kits. I have eaten the meat from an old buck, and don't like it nearly as much as the meat from a young tender deer, but it is meat. When you see these guys hunting on TV they are on land that is fenced, and managed by the owner to produce huge bucks. They are paid by the company putting on the show, and most probably get to hunt for free, so the ranch, or guide service, can get free advertisement. These Ranches spend thousands of dollars each year planting the food crops, and supplements, that will insure the maximum growth of both the deer, and it's antlers. The average men, and women, who hunt on these properties pay big money for the chance to take a once in a life time buck (antlers). I looked around a little and the cheapest weekend hunt I could find in TX was $750 for an opportunity to hunt that particular ranch. If I should shoot a deer, the price goes way up, both for packaging the deer for shipment, and for getting the once in a life time buck (antlers) mounted. I could hunt deer for 50 years on what one of these trips would cost me. These shows do not represent the reality of deer hunting as most of us know it to be.

What's going on??I have ranted about Versus shows,but I still like them because I get to see huge deer anyways.Well,turned on the TV this morning and the Versus channel is gone!I have Dishnetwork,I knew it was off Directv,but now Dishnetwork booted them too?

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